[redrocker652002]

How long does it take you guys and gals to go thru a 5 gallon keg if you are drinking alone?  My question stems from the fact that I have, solo mind you, gone thru 5 gallons of beer in a month.  Is this excessive?  LOL.  On average I had 2 or 3 pints a day on my off days, so in reality it was more like 15 days.  Thoughts? 

[Bob357]

Two to 3 weeks is about average for me, with some commercial beer added into the mix. I'm retired, so have plenty of time to kick back with a cold one.

[redrocker652002]

Two to 3 weeks is about average for me, with some commercial beer added into the mix. I'm retired, so have plenty of time to kick back with a cold one.

LOL.   Just what I wanted to hear.  Now I can tell the wife I don't have a problem.  LOL.  Cheers

[BrewBama]

If your wife is concerned find out if it’s volume or alcohol (or both) that is the issue. Balancing your health, alcohol consumption, and a happy marriage can be a blessing. Take some time to understand her then take some steps like those I use below to reassure her. She’ll notice you took her concerns serious and you took steps to address them. There is a healthy compromise to be had. Have a few on weekends during a gathering, sports event, or on special occasions without guilt or conflict and brew some iced tea or have a glass of ice water for the rest of your hydration. It’s really about priorities. Saying no to a beer is insignificant if it restores balance in your relationship or health. The beer will still be there when it’s time to say yes.

I use a ~ 500 ml pour in 20 oz pint glasses (oversized for foam) and get ~35 beers in the glass from a 5 gal keg (640 fl oz. if full). I brew once a month rotating from Fermentation > Conditioning > On Deck > Serving. Family and friends help consume ~ a gal or so a month which works out about right because…

Rarely do I have a beer every day anymore and when I am having a beer I rarely have more than 1 in a sitting.  However, my goal in daily intake is to limit carbs not alcohol. (I’ve lost 40+ lbs since Mother’s Day)

…but to address alcohol, I have also reduced ABV in most of my beers. I comfortably sit in the 3-5% range on avg except for the annual Winter Warmer/Christmas Bock. I start with a lower OG and use enzymes to reach a lower FG.  This originally was to reduce carbs — which it does — but it also keeps me in check on alcohol consumption. I am not drinking to get drunk. I am drinking to enjoy the flavor of the beer I brewed.


Bier bewusst genießen

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[Steve Ruch]

I usually have a bottle of beer with supper so I go through a three gallon batch a month. Five gallons a month is less than two a day, so not excessive in my opinion.

[Andy Farke]

Depending on the beer, I'll finish a keg in one to two months...but, that's almost never entirely on my own. I share at least two or three growlers per keg, and during the warmer months will often have folks over for a post-work beer...although my spouse does help with some of the consumption, I am the main beer drinker in the house. I usually have three kegs on tap at once.

I've cut my beer consumption back a fair bit from where I was five or ten years ago. Most days, I'll have one (or none). On a relaxed Saturday afternoon, I might have a couple. But like BrewBama, I nowadays mostly brew lower alcohol beers (between 3.5% and 5.5% abv). I also have switched over to 12 oz. Willi Bechers for personal consumption, or 12 oz. tulip glasses...that way I can have the satisfaction of drinking a full glass but not a full 16 ounces! I also regularly have non-alcoholic beers on-hand, to switch things up if I want the experience of having a few beers but not all the alcohol/calories...there are some pretty passable options now beyond O'Douls. But that's for another thread!

[Kevin]

A 5 gallon keg will last  4 to 6 weeks for me.

[redrocker652002]

Thanks for all the input guys, all points well taken. 

[Lazy Ant Brewing]

A 5-gal batch will last me 2/1/2 to 3 months.  I bottle the brew in 12-oz size to limit calories, and it's a rare week when I have more than 4 bottles.  I'm in my late 70s, have recently moved, and don't yet have a lot of friends to share beer with. I'm the only beer drinker in the house since my lady friend detests it, but doesn't mind me consuming it.  Most of my beer is in the 5% to 5.5% ABV.
 

[KellerBrauer]

If your wife is concerned find out if it’s volume or alcohol (or both) that is the issue. Balancing your health, alcohol consumption, and a happy marriage can be a blessing. Take some time to understand her then take some steps like those I use below to reassure her. She’ll notice you took her concerns serious and you took steps to address them. There is a healthy compromise to be had. Have a few on weekends during a gathering, sports event, or on special occasions without guilt or conflict and brew some iced tea or have a glass of ice water for the rest of your hydration. It’s really about priorities. Saying no to a beer is insignificant if it restores balance in your relationship or health. The beer will still be there when it’s time to say yes.

Very well said, BrewBama!

[jeffy]

Checking my log book and doing some rough calculations I have brewed 20 ten-gallon batches of beer in the past two years, and since I have not been sending much to competitions or sharing at meetings during that time, that means I drank close to 1600 pints in 700 days which works out to about 2 1/3 pints per day.  My wife does not drink beer, but enjoys wine and other cocktails.
Of course this is just homebrew and each ten-gallon batch was more likely less than 10 gallons of beer-ready-to-drink.  I also buy beer at the store when I’m low or don’t like the variety at home and my wife and I go out a few times each week.
I also like whiskey.  And coffee.  And water.

[redrocker652002]

I guess I should explain the part about my wife being concerned was a bit of a joke.  We have been married for over 25 years, and I have always enjoyed my beer.  So, the part about concerned was more a joke.  My brother wants to give a try to brewing his own this time, so next Saturday may be brew day.  LOL.  But I do agree that anything to excess is probably not a good thing.  Have a great weekend all

[reverseapachemaster]

My keg beers are usually 4-5% ABV easy drinkers but I fill three gallon kegs so I can turn them over a little quicker. As it is I sit on them for months.

I generally only drink on the weekends and when I'm being as healthy as I should I'm only having 6-7 beers in a typical week. I'm not drinking through a keg very fast. I also have a fairly large cellar of packaged beer (both commercial and home) so my keg doesn't get touched every weekend. I figured out early in my brewing a five gallon batch took longer to drink than I could hold off wanting to brew again. I started brewing small batches almost right away at a time when brewing less than five gallons was considered crazy. I'm the only person who tends to drink the kegs because I brew yeast-forward beers and most of my friends are IPA drinkers. One of my friends works for a distributor and gets a ton of beer free so every time he shows up he unloads some of the free beer. Not a bad problem to have but it isn't helping move through the beer we already have or let me brew as often as I would like.